I am calling on Rachel Maclean, the Home Office Minister for Safeguarding, to introduce a minimum legal age for piercing in the UK. 

Today in Claire's Accessories I witnessed a 4-year-old girl being forced against her will to have her ears pierced by her parents. The girl was extremely distressed & kept repeating that she didn't want it done. The mother's response was "I want you to have it done, so you're having it done".

The girl had to be restrained for the procedure to take place. She was screaming, crying, visibly panic-stricken & terrified. 

I don't believe this was a one-off, I am certain the majority of young children would have a similar reaction to a frightening procedure they have no choice in. 

Both the mother & the shop assistant ridiculed the girl's distress, calling her a baby for being upset & telling her to stop being so silly. They offered her no comfort.

As a witness it was awful to see, I was left shaken by this brutal act, which I felt verged on abuse. 

Putting a child through such distress for the sake of the parent's vanity should be abolished. 

Children are naturally beautiful, they do not need jewellery to make them look pretty. There is also a valid risk that a young child could rip out a piercing & swallow it, causing potential internal damage.

I cannot believe there is no legal age for such a practice in this country. At least wait until the child is old enough to understand & have a say in it - it's their body!

Some will say the piercing of children can be a cultural practice. Likewise, FGM is a cultural practice, but it has been made illegal in this country because we know it's wrong. There are evident parallels with a lack of consent and respect for bodily autonomy. 

'Culture' & 'tradition' need to stop being used as excuses for aggression & suffering - in all cultures. If an act, cultural or otherwise, causes harm to a child there is no excuse for it.

Likewise, religion, or any way of life, should not be out of bounds when it comes to challenging certain behaviours that affect children. 

Positive change equals progress.